While the U.S. is one of the most educated countries in the world, it doesn’t provide the same quality elementary school or secondary school education to all students. In many states, more affluent school districts receive a greater amount of funding per student than poorer districts.
Discrepancies between the rich and poor have been exacerbated even more this year by the COVID-19 pandemic. As states decide whether their school districts will have in-person learning this fall, studies show that low-income students will suffer the greatest “learning loss” due to partial or total remote learning. One contributing factor is that people in low-income districts are less likely to have the technological resources they need.
States that provide equitable funding to all school districts can help prevent poor students from having lower graduation rates, lower rates of pursuing higher education and smaller future incomes than their wealthy peers. The difference is dramatic: College graduates have $460 - $1,154 higher median weekly earnings than people with a high school diploma and no college experience, depending on the degree.
Arkansas has the 3rd most equitable school districts in the U.S. overall, but some districts within the state are fairer than others. To find out where school funding is distributed most equitably, WalletHub scored 235 districts in Arkansas based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil. Read on for the district ranking and a complete description of our methodology.
Main Findings
Note: For visual purposes, we included only the top 7 school districts by enrollment from each category. Rank 1 on the “Expenditures Ranking” means highest expenditures and Rank 1 on “Income Ranking” means lowest income.
Most & Least Equitable School Districts in Arkansas
| Rank* | School District | Score | Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools per Pupil | Income by School District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Junction City School District 75 | 0.02 | $9,577 | $45,308 |
| 2 | Woodlawn School District 6 | 0.04 | $8,704 | $49,063 |
| 3 | Texarkana School District 7 | 0.06 | $10,712 | $40,446 |
| 4 | England School District | 0.32 | $10,325 | $42,228 |
| 5 | Hillcrest School District | 0.42 | $10,619 | $40,636 |
| 6 | Melbourne School District | 0.43 | $9,690 | $45,012 |
| 7 | Pine Bluff School District 3 | 0.48 | $12,266 | $33,922 |
| 8 | Hope School District | 0.49 | $11,143 | $38,348 |
| 9 | Green Forest School District | 0.86 | $10,157 | $43,184 |
| 10 | Lonoke School District | 0.86 | $8,954 | $48,375 |
| 11 | Russellville School District 14 | 1.09 | $10,366 | $41,440 |
| 12 | Smackover School District 39 | 1.11 | $10,576 | $41,486 |
| 13 | Arkadelphia School District | 1.18 | $10,928 | $38,977 |
| 14 | Manila School District 15 | 1.4 | $9,495 | $45,064 |
| 15 | Jasper School District | 1.48 | $11,373 | $36,927 |
| 16 | Glen Rose School District | 1.6 | $8,786 | $49,420 |
| 17 | Huntsville School District 1 | 1.62 | $9,763 | $43,811 |
| 18 | Forrest City School District 7 | 1.71 | $11,630 | $35,716 |
| 19 | Batesville School District | 1.86 | $9,406 | $45,246 |
| 20 | Jacksonville North Pulaski School District | 2.17 | $8,611 | $48,543 |
| 21 | Kirby School District 32 | 2.18 | $10,167 | $41,827 |
| 22 | Danville School District | 2.19 | $10,162 | $43,740 |
| 23 | Mulberry School District 101 | 2.33 | $10,979 | $38,256 |
| 24 | Wynne School District 9 | 2.44 | $9,349 | $45,240 |
| 25 | Heber Springs School District 1 | 2.45 | $9,367 | $45,160 |
| 26 | Earle School District | 2.47 | $12,020 | $33,706 |
| 27 | Mt Ida School District 20 | 2.54 | $10,895 | $40,731 |
| 28 | Deer- Mount Judea School District | 2.63 | $10,448 | $40,417 |
| 29 | Watson Chapel School District 24 | 2.69 | $10,342 | $43,179 |
| 30 | Fort Smith School District | 2.73 | $10,612 | $39,666 |
*1=Most Equitable
Methodology
In order to rank the states with the most and least equitable school districts, WalletHub first scored 12,919 school districts throughout the U.S. based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.
For expenditures, for each 1 percent above the state's average we removed 1 point from a base score of 50 points for each district. For household income, for each 1 percent above the state's average we added 1 point to a base score of 50 points for each district. The inverse was true for each 1 percent below the state's average.
The final score for each district was calculated by taking the absolute difference between the score for expenditures and the score for household income. We then ranked the districts based on the total score, with the lowest value, representing the most equitable, being ranked 1.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from of the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics.